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XSEED's 2013 Lineup

Yep. And we listened to feedback on that -- the achievements in Ys I & II Chronicles+ can all theoretically be obtained with only ONE playthrough... IF you know the games like the back of your hand. ;)

-Tom
That's good! Do I detect that the "one" playthrough requires a Nightmare run at least?

I know Ys I like the back of my hand, easy peasy.

Ys II, not so much. At least, not with all of the bizarre social stuff going in the Eternal/Complete/Chronicles version. I never cared much for that part of it. Except for trying to fireball Lilia to death and then showering all of the underage girls with gifts, but that's a different problem altogether, I think.
 
DS? Assuming you didn't just deliberately avoid it for understandable reasons (poor Atlus).
Hey, that's something. I'll need to find one.

Honestly, I just forgot it existed! I even assumed it was not as bad as internet said it was too; and I always wanted to try stylus mode at least.
 

Jucksalbe

Banned
Sega Saturn (via the Falcom Collection Discs).
TurboGrafx-16 (Virtual Console).
PSP Chronicles Version Retail.
PSP Chronicles Version Digital (review code, so technically didn't buy).
Steam Chronicles+.

Haha, wow. I didn't even realize I already bought the game 5 times and
finished Ys II for the first time a few months ago
.
 
I have all the PSP releases and the Japanese Origins, but I couldn't say no to the steam prices (plus my Japanese version was the XP, not the Vista version, so it took me forever to get it patched and running on Win 7) and I'm sure I'll get the PC version of Chronicles+ also. I love this series too much. I just hope that the PC version of 6 makes it to steam eventually.

The only thing is I wish a modern version would get rid of the terrible level cap in Ys1. The PC-Engine version accomplishes it by connecting the two games, so you can have a much higher level in the first, but being stuck at level ten with the best equipment outside the tower and being unable to do more than scratch the bat boss is really annoying, and there is no point to fighting once you enter the tower, since you get nothing for it. I had to give up on Ys1 in Chronicles at that point and just go on to Ys2.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I really hope not, the first one was so awesome.

Sequel is even better.


Come on Tom!

w.jpg


Renaissance-su!
 
The only thing is I wish a modern version would get rid of the terrible level cap in Ys1. The PC-Engine version accomplishes it by connecting the two games, so you can have a much higher level in the first, but being stuck at level ten with the best equipment outside the tower and being unable to do more than scratch the bat boss is really annoying, and there is no point to fighting once you enter the tower, since you get nothing for it. I had to give up on Ys1 in Chronicles at that point and just go on to Ys2.
The PS2 version balances the levels in Ys I a lot better! It's a crummy port though.

The Eternal/Complete/Chronicles versions are just sticking to the Level 10 cap in homage to the very OG version.
 

wyrdwad

XSEED Localization Specialist
I have all the PSP releases and the Japanese Origins, but I couldn't say no to the steam prices (plus my Japanese version was the XP, not the Vista version, so it took me forever to get it patched and running on Win 7) and I'm sure I'll get the PC version of Chronicles+ also. I love this series too much. I just hope that the PC version of 6 makes it to steam eventually.

The only thing is I wish a modern version would get rid of the terrible level cap in Ys1. The PC-Engine version accomplishes it by connecting the two games, so you can have a much higher level in the first, but being stuck at level ten with the best equipment outside the tower and being unable to do more than scratch the bat boss is really annoying, and there is no point to fighting once you enter the tower, since you get nothing for it. I had to give up on Ys1 in Chronicles at that point and just go on to Ys2.

Sounds to me like you didn't have the Silver Sword.

Without the Silver Sword, that boss is pretty much unbeatable in this version. You absolutely NEED to get it
from the Roda Tree (after finding Reah's harmonica and giving it back to her, then eating the Roda Seed)
before you can do any significant damage to him whatsoever.

That's good! Do I detect that the "one" playthrough requires a Nightmare run at least?

You do indeed. ;)

-Tom
 

Viperik

Banned
I've made some comparison shots for Ys I & II Chronicles+ so that you guys can see how this port looks and the care I've taken working on it. The game has two display modes: "Complete" (4:3) and "Chronicles" (roughly the same as the PSP version). I took a bunch of shots in different display modes. You can also see how we've expanded the Chronicles art compared to PSP in the Ys II shots. I hope this clears up some confusion!

Ys Chronicles+ (HUD, etc. shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Ys II Chronicles+ (Portrait/Dialogue shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p Widescreen: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Nice work. Definitely preordering this.
 
Oh XSEED, you're like Atlus before Atlus got all big and full of itself... not that I don't still love them in their own mostly persona-y way.

Seriously, XSEED has quickly become my favorite publisher over the last few years.
 

QP3

Member
How are the Valhalla Knight games? I have not played them but love aRPG's.

What should I expect from VK3 on my vita?
 

duckroll

Member
This seems to be the biggest question I'm seeing from our announcement, so I figured I'd jump in and address it.

Steam programmer and all-around miracle worker Sara essentially managed to combine Ys I & II Chronicles with the earlier fan-favorite PC release Ys I & II Complete, effectively mixing all the best features of both versions. That means it's got the selectable soundtracks and selectable art styles from Chronicles alongside the visual flexibility of Complete (including a greater viewing area, togglable screen frame and support for windowed mode).

Plus it's got a few updates, like the ability to resize the window in windowed mode and have the graphics scale smoothly, as well as the usual complement of achievements and leaderboards.

The achievements are a little different this time, too. Based on feedback received from our Felghana and Origin Steam releases, we've tried to feature fewer incremental achievements and instead go for more once-and-done tasks... but with a twist. Some of these achievements are meant for long-time Ys fans, so their unlock conditions are occasionally kind of like puzzles unto themselves. But if you are a long-time series fan, you can theoretically attain every single achievement on one single playthrough.

The rest of our game announcements are pretty straight-forward, but if anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask. I might not be able to answer, of course... but hey, I can try! ;)

-Tom

I've made some comparison shots for Ys I & II Chronicles+ so that you guys can see how this port looks and the care I've taken working on it. The game has two display modes: "Complete" (4:3) and "Chronicles" (roughly the same as the PSP version). I took a bunch of shots in different display modes. You can also see how we've expanded the Chronicles art compared to PSP in the Ys II shots. I hope this clears up some confusion!

Ys Chronicles+ (HUD, etc. shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Ys II Chronicles+ (Portrait/Dialogue shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p Widescreen: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Okay, I'll buy it to support this sort of effort. :)
 
I've made some comparison shots for Ys I & II Chronicles+ so that you guys can see how this port looks and the care I've taken working on it. The game has two display modes: "Complete" (4:3) and "Chronicles" (roughly the same as the PSP version). I took a bunch of shots in different display modes. You can also see how we've expanded the Chronicles art compared to PSP in the Ys II shots. I hope this clears up some confusion!

Ys Chronicles+ (HUD, etc. shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Ys II Chronicles+ (Portrait/Dialogue shot)
1x Size: Complete Mode | Chronicles Mode
2x Size: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered
Letterboxing: Filtered/Unfiltered
720p Widescreen: Complete Mode Filtered/Unfiltered | Chronicles Mode Filtered/Unfiltered

Daaaamn, that's so awesome. I've already preordered it, now I have to decide whether I'm gonna play it Widescreen Complete Filtered or Chronicles Unfiltered.

I'll have to contemplate it while blasting through Fire Emblem. =(
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Yo Wyrdwad, you skipped my question ya bum, and it's a totally answerable one!

To repeat, my question was: Given that you guys are publishing Killer is Dead concurrent with the Japanese release, should we assume that you're also providing production assistance for the game itself? Do you have a producer working with Kadokawa/Grasshopper on this, for example making the game more globally accessible or offering gameplay/design feedback? I know when you publish a game, it's normally a game that's finished and released elsewhere. I just ask because WB/Kadokawa had the sort of arrangement I'm describing on Lollipop Chainsaw.
 

x3r0123

Member
excellent news and thank you xseed. will buy killer, 2 copies of ys4 if there is a limited edition and getting a second copy of pandora's tower as soon as amazon.ca preorder is up
 

Aeana

Member
Yo Wyrdwad, you skipped my question ya bum, and it's a totally answerable one!

To repeat, my question was: Given that you guys are publishing Killer is Dead concurrent with the Japanese release, should we assume that you're also providing production assistance for the game itself? Do you have a producer working with Kadokawa/Grasshopper on this, for example making the game more globally accessible or offering gameplay/design feedback? I know when you publish a game, it's normally a game that's finished and released elsewhere. I just ask because WB/Kadokawa had the sort of arrangement I'm describing on Lollipop Chainsaw.

H.Protagonist replied to you, though.

It is unusual, but not completely unheard of as we've done it for other games like Little King's Story and now Valhalla Knights 3. On the development side, we can give our feedback to the dev team as we play early builds and make suggestions, but the final decision on all gameplay matters are ultimately with them. We do get to do a wee bit of tweaking to the script, though.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Yo Wyrdwad, you skipped my question ya bum, and it's a totally answerable one!

To repeat, my question was: Given that you guys are publishing Killer is Dead concurrent with the Japanese release, should we assume that you're also providing production assistance for the game itself? Do you have a producer working with Kadokawa/Grasshopper on this, for example making the game more globally accessible or offering gameplay/design feedback? I know when you publish a game, it's normally a game that's finished and released elsewhere. I just ask because WB/Kadokawa had the sort of arrangement I'm describing on Lollipop Chainsaw.

WB is a lot bigger than XSeed. So I'd say it's a given that, no, they have no involvement in that stuff.
 
Hey, that's something. I'll need to find one.

Honestly, I just forgot it existed! I even assumed it was not as bad as internet said it was too; and I always wanted to try stylus mode at least.
You can have my copy for free*. I won't have access to it until late Feb, but it's the boxed first run with the soundtrack disc, I barely played it.


*you have to pay shipping, unless you happen to live in NYC
 

Eusis

Member
Why dont they handle Bravely Default too i wonder
Maybe that being owned by SQUARE ENIX has something to do with that. Unless there's a pre-existing stake (Natsume and Lufia) you can expect any games to either be from SE themselves or for Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft/MAYBE a bigger third party to publish it. And it hasn't been TOO long since BD's Japanese release so for all we know SE's already moving along with localization and just has nothing to say (though most likely if that's the case Nintendo pushed them to it).
 

Eusis

Member
I'll answer it for you: Konami.
Uhh, have they actually SAID Konami was a problem though? You won't get the extra content and have to do the localization from scratch (though I think Deuce completed a translation so that's probably not a problem), but I doubt Konami has rights to the game for forever over Falcom. In fact, I think it was said Konami was a non-factor, but I may be misremembering.
 

Aeana

Member
It's highly unlikely that Konami is an issue because of the way Falcom does licensing. They'd have to retranslate the game, but Deuce offered his translation anyway.
 
You can have my copy for free*. I won't have access to it until late Feb, but it's the boxed first run with the soundtrack disc, I barely played it.


*you have to pay shipping, unless you happen to live in NYC
Oh wow, that's incredibly cool of you. :)

Just PM me when you get to it, we'll work out the details.
 

duckroll

Member
It's highly unlikely that Konami is an issue because of the way Falcom does licensing. They'd have to retranslate the game, but Deuce offered his translation anyway.

Yeah I imagine Konami would only be a barrier to anyone wanting to deal with the PS2 or PSP versions of Ys6. Since Konami developed those themselves iirc.
 
Oh wow, that's incredibly cool of you. :)

Just PM me when you get to it, we'll work out the details.

Grats, though be prepared for the pain that is that DS release. SO very bad.

since everyone else is listing their Ys dips, here are mine:

TG-CD 2x (One of my discs got lost, and when it was found it was scratched to hell, so I rebought it.)
Ys I PC
Ys II PC
DS
Chronicles(PSN, though I did buy the LE extras off of someone)
Chronicles+ (Preordered)

so that's like 7?

Anyone have a master system or DOS version they're willing to part with? All I need for my US collection.
 

wyrdwad

XSEED Localization Specialist
since everyone else is listing their Ys dips, here are mine:

You know, I've never actually taken stock of mine. Let's see what I've got:

Ys Book I & II (Virtual Console)
Ys I & II Eternal Story LE (PS2-J)
Ys I & II Complete LE (PC-J)
Ys I & II Chronicles LE (PSP-J)
Ys I & II Chronicles LE (PSP-E)
Ys I & II Chronicles (PC-J)
Ys I & II Chronicles+ (Steam)

I also technically once owned Legacy of Ys on DS and Ys Book I & II on Turbo-CD, but both were subsequently given away to friends.

-Tom
 

wyrdwad

XSEED Localization Specialist
You should really look into the Saturn version, again, mainly because the remakes of Dragon Slayer and Xanadu are great.

Yeah, I've seen footage of those, and they are indeed really amazing-looking -- that Saturn version of Xanadu looks especially tasty! I also really like the art style they used for the Ys games in those versions, and am curious to see more of the Asteka remake as well.

Problem is, I don't own a Saturn. :(

But if I ever get one, the two Falcom Classics releases will be among my first games for it, I think. (Along with the awesome-looking Saturn version of Legend of Heroes: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch!)

-Tom
 

wyrdwad

XSEED Localization Specialist
So would this be the proper entry-point for Ys newcomers?

I'd recommend Ys Seven or Ys: The Oath in Felghana instead, actually (the former if you're a more modern gamer with more modern sensibilities, and the latter if you enjoy the punishingly hard games of old).

Ys I & II is best saved for after you've already seen what the series would later become, as it's much easier to appreciate and enjoy when placed in the context of what it spawned.

That's not to say you COULDN'T start with Ys I & II... but they are very different from other entries, and do show their age quite a bit (for better or for worse, depending on how much of a retro gamer you are).

-Tom
 
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